Suit brought over owl plan

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Conservation groups are suing two federal agencies over a plan that allows logging in northern spotted owl and salmon habitat on private timberlands in Northern California.

The Center for Biological Diversity and others filed the challenge Monday against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the NOAA Fisheries Service in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

The groups are seeking an injunction barring implementation of what is known as a habitat conservation plan covering nearly 240 square miles of timberland owned by Fruit Growers Supply in Siskiyou County.

The lawsuit says the plan violates environmental laws by relying too heavily on the assumption that neighboring national forest lands won’t be logged, and will result in the deaths of more than 80 spotted owls.